Man, Boys Arrested In Altar Vandalism

October 10, 1997|By Betsey Boldt.

WOODSTOCK — A Woodstock man is being held in McHenry County Jail and four youths were released to the custody of their parents in connection with the Sept. 19 vandalism at Calvary Cemetery in which an Italian marble altar valued at $20,000 was destroyed.

Adam C. Murray, 19, of 650 Silvercreek Rd., was arrested Wednesday and charged with a Class III felony of criminal damage to property in excess of $10,000, according to Woodstock Police Sgt. Richard Johns.

Four other suspects, all juveniles, were arrested Tuesday after Woodstock Detective Jeff Rhode received a tip.

Murray was taken to McHenry County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. The juveniles, a 15-year-old boy and three 16-year-old boys, will be petitioned into court and may face similar charges, Johns said.

The marble altar, which was built in 1910 for the original St. Mary's Church, was valued by a monument company at $20,000, said Bert Richardson, business manager for St. Mary's Church and the Calvary Cemetery.

The altar had been moved from the church into a semi-enclosed shrine in the cemetery in 1991. The day after the vandalism, Richardson said that the top of the altar was salvageable, but the rest of it was broken into small pieces.

"We are pleased to hear they were apprehended," said Richardson in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. He declined to comment further, saying he was waiting for more details of the arrest.

Johns said the police department has received an admission of guilt from all five participants. According to the boys, the incident was a random act of property damage, and was not satanic or gang-related.

If convicted, Murray could face 2 to 5 years in jail, and fines up to the amount of damage.